Dam at North Korea power plant partly collapsed, source says

The structure is leaking water due to shoddy construction.

North Korean workers gathered at Mount Paektu power station. The infrastructure is showing signs of damage, according to satellite images that were analyzed in South Korea. File Photo by DPRK Today

SEOUL, May 10 (UPI) -- A power plant Kim Jong Un touted during the Seventh Party Congress may be leaking at various points due to shoddy construction.

Mount Paektu power plants Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in Yanggang Province are experiencing problems due to a nationwide policy that stressed the importance of speed over safety checks, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

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The construction took place hastily in order to meet a deadline ahead of the congress, which opened Friday and closed Monday.

Kim's call for a "70-day battle," a mass mobilization movement that required ordinary North Koreans to volunteer free labor, has not had the results the state had expected, according to an unnamed source who provided satellite images of the power station.

The state then held a "completion" ceremony for the power station on April 28, and Kim recently told the congress the power station had been "built well," thanks to the "indomitable spirit" of young workers.

But a source on the issue said the construction took place at subzero temperatures, and the pouring of concrete took place at -22 degrees Fahrenheit.

Workers were also not adequately clothed or fed during the construction, and due to the lack of safety equipment, dozens of people were injured on site.